Sunday, December 30, 2007

Where has this year gone? It's hard to believe that New Year's is almost here. I'll be sad to see '07 go, it's been a good one.

Not much new going on. Fran has been off all week. We've been pretty lazy. I did finally make it to Longwood Gardens. It's one of my favorite places in the world. And Christmas time there is pure magic. The trees outside are beautifully lit and the Conservatory is filled with poinsettias and decorated trees. It was packed! I took tons of pictures and had to scrap a few right away. Here's my layout. I used my Studio Calico kit (love it). I used a piece of Noteworthy paper as a template and traced it onto cardstock. Then I added a glitter border. The stars are sprayed with Glimmer Mist, another new addiction!

Sunday, December 23, 2007

I'm finally done. The gifts are wrapped, the cards have been sent, the groceries bought for Christmas meals! Now I can sit back and relax. Tomorrow, Christmas Eve is also Fran's birthday. We have lots of exciting things going on. And of course, Christmas day will be spent with family. What more can you ask for? So, here's my Christmas wish to you. Have a wonderful, blessed day and may the spirit of the season be with you all year long.

Thursday, December 20, 2007

I recently came across a great idea that was posted by one of the Paper Crafts editors, Brandy, on their blog. You can send cards to those recovering at the Walter Reed Army Medical center. At this time of year, a word of thanks or a happy holiday wish would certainly make a difference in their lives. Even though it's getting close to Christmas I'm going to get a couple of cards in the mail! I'm sure they'd even like New Year's ones. This is definitely an address I'll be saving for holidays later in the year, too.

Here's the address:We Support You During Your Recoveryc/o American Red CrossP.O. Box 419Savage, MD 20763-0419

And Brandy added the following note of interest: "There are several incorrect addresses for the Walter Reed Army Medical Center floating around, as well as news stories telling people not to send in cards. I called the hospital directly and was informed that sending cards to the American Red Cross address above will guarantee that your cards will be delivered to the soldiers at this hospital."

These are the two cards that I'll be seding over today. This is one of my favorites that I made a while ago. I stamped with paint and then added Hambly transparencies and a BG rubon to the cover.

This one uses one of my favorite Christmas lines, Cosmo Cricket Wonderland.

Finally, here's one of my newest creations. It's for this week's CPS blog. The patterned paper is Paper Trunk, this week's sponsor. Also used some glittered chipboard and some fun silver cord.

That's it for today. I'm off to bake my Christmas cookies and finish wrapping my gifts. Have an awesome day!

Saturday, December 15, 2007

We've had a wonderfully lazy day today. I made some cards this morning. I cleaned and put a TON of laundry away. We went bowling. Just lots of mundane things. But I love it. Ryan is now watching Scooby Doo (what else is new?) and we're waiting for takeout from Hibachi. YUM!!!

Anyway, here are a couple of new cards. This was my CPS card for the week. I used mostly Melissa Frances stuff and some Inque Boutique stamps.

This is a sympathy card. I came across this quote and thought it was really appropriate to send to someone who is grieving.

That's about it for now. Gotta go write Christmas cards. Have a great weekend!

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

I've really been having fun making Christmas cards this year. Here are a couple I did this week using Paper Salon stuff.

This one is really gittery in real life. I used the glitter snowflake paper from the Snowday paper line. I added some glitter snowflake rubons, too. After cutting the letters on my Cricut, I ran them through the Xyron face down then added a mix of white and silver glitter to them. The bling and sparkly ribbon add to the festive feel of the card.

On this one, I stamped the trees and added jewels. The sentiment was heat embossed with white embossing powder. I used paper from the Ornamental Holiday line.I love pink and green on Christmas cards. I also added some of my favorite Queen and Company scroll felt for a little texture.

Monday, December 10, 2007

Ugh. I've been sick the past few days. Just can't seem to get ANYthing accomplished. Not the best time to be feeling tired and listless. I did, however, make our Christmas card this morning. Last week it snowed here and I captured this adorable photo of Ryan outside by the berry bush. I had a lot of fun doing the digital thing....

In keeping with the Christmas spirit, here's a card I made for the CPS Blog We decided that we'd do all holiday cards this week. Each designer picked their favorite sketch and redid it in a Christmas theme. Here's my first card for the week. I used a gorgeous Inque Boutique stamp with white embossing powder. The papers are Fancy Pants and the rubon is K and Co. I added lots of bling, too. (as always). The little pink flower came in an awesome RAK from my dear friend Kim Hughes. I love the texture it adds to the card.

That's all for now. Check back later in the week for some more holiday inspiration!

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

I was so excited to take Ryan to New York for the first time! We went up and visited Enrique's family and had such a wonderful time. This was the first time Ryan had met his NY cousins, too. We went to Sabrina's Nutcracker performance on Saturday. She was great, so graceful and sweet! On Sunday, Mom, Ryan and I braved the cold weather and the crowds to see the tree. It was spectacular. I do think I was more excited than Ryan was to see it, though. He got really sick of me taking pictures!

Here are a few:

This is Ryan and the girls. They have the loveliest courtyard garden in their building. Ryan's favorite part of the trip was playing in the snow there.

Here's the tree. It's so gorgeous in real life. I just couldn't capture how sparkly it was. BUT, I could zoom in on it really well using my brand new 70-300 lens that Enrique gave me! Yes, Christmas came early. He just happened to have an extra one and let me have it. Can I just tell you how excited I am???

Here's another shot of the tree.Check out the look on Ryan's face. He was not a happy camper at this point.

But then, he cheered up a bit!

He also got to see the beautiful window display at Saks. He loved that.

All in all it was a magical trip. We can't wait to get back for another visit.And it really got me in the mood for Christmas. So here are a couple of cards...

This is an older one, but one of my all time faves. Everything is Paper Salon. I painted the chipboard with Stickles.

And here's one that I thought would be a great holiday Thank You. I used Inque Boutique stamps and Creative Imaginations paper.